Date:11/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091155201001.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Colour-conscious?

The answer to the question “Are we a colour-conscious nation?” (Sept. 9) should be an emphatic ‘yes.’ Dark-skinned women, especially those who are not married, suffer the indignities and humiliations reserved for them. They are taunted, discriminated against and looked down upon in public and at home. Not to be outdone, the market and the media are also unkind to them. We condemn racism in distant lands but indulge in the crudest form of racism by meting out inferior treatment to dark-complexioned women.

It would be appropriate to quote socialist thinker Rammanohar Lohia who depicted their poignant situation. He said “Coloured women suffer greater oppression. They are reared on a diet of anxiety and inferiority. Even as a little child, the dark girl, who may be sister to a fairer girl in the same family, has to accustom herself to neglect and treatment reserved for citizens of the second grade.”

K. Sekhar,

Visakhapatnam

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The article raises some important questions. Fairness creams and the like only commercialise the beauty of women. Being fair, it is believed, makes women better competitors in the marriage market. This belief further entrenches patriarchy. The need for women to look good in the eyes of men makes the male domination of society stronger. The cosmetics industry thus reinforces the belief that fair is beautiful. It subtly conveys that the coloured skin should be done away with. It is not only rural girls but also the urban educated women who are obsessed with fair skin. The fair-is-beautiful idea has been internalised and fairness creams thrive on the internalisation.

Anuradha Singh,

New Delhi

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Discrimination on the basis of skin colour is rampant in our country. Women, particularly the uneducated and poor, who are already a marginalised section, bear the brunt. The rich manage to withstand it with their affluence. Right from childhood — in classrooms, at play and so on — the dark-skinned have to bear with abuses heaped on them by a discrimination-ridden society.

Kumaran Appuchami,

Salem

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I agree that women’s self-esteem is demolished by fairness creams which promise a better complexion, promoting the fair-is-beautiful idea. But the concluding paragraph refers to Barack Obama’s candidature as a symbol of liberal America. I am afraid this statement is unacceptable. The non-black voters want to vote for Mr. Obama not because they ignore his colour but because he is different, the other side of Malcolm X. It shows that America is a society wherein all have equal chances. But the post-Katrina U.S. was a reminder of the centuries-old racial discrimination. Mr. Obama is just an attempt to sweep it under the carpet.

S Thejhas,

Coimbatore

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Linking the bright marital prospects of a fair-complexioned girl to colour-based discrimination is farfetched. It is not uncommon or unnatural for a man to expect his wife to be good-looking. Similarly, it is only natural for women to wish that they look good. And if a fairness cream or, for that matter, anything can help them look better, I don’t see why they should not use it or a company should not market it. The company cannot be accused of indulging in unethical practices. The argument that the colour criterion applies only to women and hence it is discriminatory is not sound either. Men with good education, and good salaries have better marital prospects. Does it mean men are discriminated against on the basis of education and employment?

Krishna Prasad,

Chennai